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I have an Acer Nitro 5 AN515-42 that came with windows 10 that I hate. I want to put back windows 7 + Ubuntu.

I downloaded the Iso of Windows 7, and set it on a bootable Datatraveler pen-drive of 16Go with rufus.

If I use other parameters than GPT, UEFI, Fat32, I don't see the pen-drive in the bios. With these parameters, I could successfully select the pen-drive to be boot onto.

I had to disable the secure boot on the bios. I also disabled the fast boot option. It is important to note that there is no way to change boot mode to legacy. I have only the UEFI option.

When I boot on this pen-drive, I get the following error :

error when booting on USB

I tried to boot on an Ubuntu install from the pendrive, and it worked fine. I tried with another Windows 7 iso file, but it failed the same way...

I don't know anymore what to do.

Sharcoux
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  • Windows 7 expires Jan 2020, next month. Best not to use it. You can install Windows 7 from flash drive in UEFI boot mode. But it must be FAT32. And if original Windows 7 ISO, you have to move boot files into /EFI/Boot. If updated version, it should have that folder/file. UEFI only boots external devices from FAT32 & /EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi. https://askubuntu.com/questions/289559/how-can-i-create-a-windows-bootable-usb-stick-using-ubuntu & convert: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2304736 Also best to backup current Windows so you can reinstall later. – oldfred Dec 04 '19 at 04:33
  • I know about expiracy, but for this computer I don't really mind. As I said, I used UEFI and Fat32 options from rufus. There is an efi/boot folder with a bootx64.efi file in it. There is no other files there. Should I do sth? And I am changing my hard drive, so I'll keep my windows 10 active on the old one. – Sharcoux Dec 04 '19 at 12:36
  • Windows 7 will require gpt partitioning for UEFI boot. In BIOS mode, it has to have MBR(msdos). and may give those types of errors if boot mode does not match drive configuration. And then you must have unallocated space. Windows typically does not see or see correctly Linux partitions, so have good backups. – oldfred Dec 04 '19 at 13:32
  • Sorry if I was confusing about Ubuntu, I just tried to start from an Ubuntu install on the pendrive to make sure the pendrive and boot order was ok, but I don't actually have a Linux OS installed. I've been told that Windows 7 won't start on UEFI bios, is it true? My pendrive is set to GPT, UEFI, Fat32. My bios is set with UEFI, secure boot disabled. What should I look for? – Sharcoux Dec 04 '19 at 13:45
  • My UEFI has Windows & "Other". I use other for my Ubuntu installs. But somewhere in manual it says I have to use "Other" for Windows 7 as it does not support UEFI Secure Boot, so setting really is UEFI Secure Boot on or off. Or Windows 7 can UEFI boot, but not in Secure Boot mode. How you boot install media, it then how it installs. – oldfred Dec 04 '19 at 15:09
  • I don't understand very well what you mean. However, whatever I do, my USB key won't start in UEFI mode despite using rufus with gpt, UEFI and Fat32 options... – Sharcoux Dec 05 '19 at 16:43
  • Are you using sp1 or original Windows 7 ISO? if original, you have to create /EFI/Boot folder and copy files. Supposedly sp1 has that. I have never installed Windows 7. https://superuser.com/questions/676249/clean-install-of-windows-7-pro-64-bit-on-a-uefi-laptop-with-gpt-partition – oldfred Dec 05 '19 at 16:57
  • I am using a sp1 Windows version. I am using Rufus to convert the iso into a bootable pendrive, and after rufus did its thing, I have a /efi/boot folder. – Sharcoux Dec 05 '19 at 23:32

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